Six months later...

I realized yesterday that I have officially been here in Alpine for 6 Months!

Wow where has the time gone? So if you are wondering what we have been doing all this time!

Waiting... We are all waiting. Waiting on the Lord waiting on the grant. There is just allot of waiting! But I have learned allot in the process of waiting. I am starting to discover more about God and more about me. This has been a growing process for me. Living on my own and learning to lean on the Lord for everything. It has been a tough two months starting off this New Year! I was financially in shambles and it looked like I was never going to get a job. Then when it seemed like all hope was lost and the grace was running out God showed up in the 11th hour. Why it appears that God likes to wait till the last minute is beyond my comprehension but He always shows up like He said He would. He made sure I was taken care of. I am! Praise God! I started work as a Part Time Admin at the Hospital District office 4 weeks ago and I couldn't be happier! It is so good to be working again and I really enjoy my job. It is not what I came here for but it is a step in the journey that will take me where I am going next. I have found that the road that takes us into the future is paved with more then good intentions but rather faith in God's plan for our life and trusting Him even when we don't know or understand what that plan is supposed to be! God has already blazed the trail we just have to be willing to follow in His footsteps even if we don't know what is around the corner, or even if it looks like we are never going to get out of the desert we seem to be stuck in... God takes us where we are supposed to be when we are supposed to be there. No matter what we think. Yes we have the power to move God's heart with our prayers but that doesn't change Him. He is God and He will always be God. He will always act like He has always acted. I have discovered in this journey when you don't like where you are at in your journey don't look around and say I hate it here I am leaving. But rather look around and say Why don't I like it here? What needs to change in me to bring me to appreciate this place I am in? How can I be made better? You are the only person who can change your perspective... You are the only one who can change how you look at things. Become an active part of the process growing and becoming who you are meant to be. Don't just get mad about that fact that you seem to be stuck in the same place. The Israelites walked around in circles in the desert for 40 years because an entire generation didn't want to go through the process of taking possession of the promise land. It is a slave mentality that I think really held them back an entire generation had lived as slaves for so long that they had forgotten God's promise of freedom and a land to call their own. An entire Generation had to grow up in freedom hearing nothing of God's promises before they were actually lead to the promise land. Just remember the desert you find yourself in may be there to change you not for you to change it. You have the ability to change yourself and your perspective! Take advantage of that ability! Embrace where you are and the process and you will not only find yourself in a new place but also find that you are a different person walking into that place!

I love y'all!

God Bless!

Alicia Zinn

Two months later...

... and now I update. I feel terrible that I haven't updated anyone on what has been going on... Transition is a tedious process and I am by no means an expert even though a lot of the time I feel like I should be. It has been a long and short two months but for the most part I am here and waiting. We are all waiting here.
Stepping out and moving here when I did was no small thing. It was a hard thing to do... I left my family while they were in the middle of a crisis to move 1500 miles away to do what exactly... well as of right now not much more than wait. In some ways it is sad because I probably could have done this in NC with more money in the bank and a family around me... And I know to some of you that is what I should have done. It is hard for some to understand why I left when I did I could have waited till the new year or something. But I know that I heard from the Lord and I know He is the one that told me August. I am here and doing well. I am learning to learning to hold onto what the Lord has told you and trust that He knows what He is doing. I am finding myself back where I was a couple of years ago (almost 3 years to the day Read about it here ). I am being reminded that I choose to submit to the Lord in obedience. I obeyed with my actions. But until the last few days I have had a hard time obeying with my heart. I forgot who this was about for a little while there. Just so you know it was never about me. Even if I thought it was. I am choosing to trust in faith that as long as I obey I will find myself right in the middle of God's plan. Even if it means being in the middle of nowhere I had heard of before this 3 years ago, doing little more than waiting and hoping that His provision of part time or temporary employment could help make financial ends meet. I need to go to bed but I will update you on where things are with Wild Fire when I get all the details. A lot has happened on that front in the last few days and I want my update to be accurate and clear!
Thank you & God bless!
Alicia

Day Two - On the Road

So today was decently uneventful for me...Besides the minor crisis evolving the movers delivering my stuff while I am literally a thousand miles away. I am not so fond of that whole thing but really there is nothing I can do about it but pray that everything came out alright and we are good to go.
I drove from Nashville to Dallas. Made it safe and sound... again I am so thankful I choose this route now for two reasons... One because the 10 hours I drove today were beautiful and I can't really say that about the 10 from Jackson MS... The second reason is apparently a tropical storm is hitting ground somewhere in the Mississippi & Louisiana region. Also a plus is I don't ever remember going to Arkansas before... But now I can say I have been there... And now I can say I have in fact driven across both Tennessee & Arkansas... next step is driving across Texas... Although Texas has some beautiful parts I am sad to say that most of them are not between Dallas & Alpine... Fort Worth is a lovely city and mountains of TX are lovely this time of year but they are not as visible from the road as one would prefer when driving but hopefully I can get there without to much trouble... Fact... I have single-handedly driven over 1000 Miles... So I have driven 500 miles and I have driven 500 more to be the girl who drove 1000 miles to fall down at my (new) door! Hehehe... I have to add 500 more so I will be the girl who drove 1500 miles to fall at my own door! Wow... Sorry but I am trying to make light of a lot of driving I am almost done and very ready to be. Please pray the Lord would protect me on the road tomorrow... I get to see Audrie and Steven and My girl Joanna tomorrow! I can't wait!
God Bless & Much Love! ~ Alicia

Day One - On the Road

I am so glad I choose to take the route through Tennessee and so on... the hours went by a lot faster then when I went the southern root through Louisiana & Mississippi.

So yesterday after arriving in Nashville I checked into my hotel which is really nice! (thank you Whitney Lewis for helping with the discount)... then proceeded to transform into a tourist... I ate a late lunch/early dinner at a Nashville Tradition... or at least that's what it said on the sign called the Pancake Pantry... they had great pancakes... But the whole time I was there I though about Paul... Because he loves pancakes or anything the is full of carbs! Speaking of Paul... I had a sad/funny moment yesterday when Audrie thought he was with me... Then Steven texted telling me she is still messing up. I thinks its funny but Paul I really miss you and do wish you were here. Then I drove around town seeing the sites like driving down Broadway by all the Honky Tonks next time I come to Nashville I will try not to make it a Sunday because most of the museums & tours were closed because I love Museums and Tours! After my tour I went to a movie at a really nice theater where you can occasionally see country & christian music stars (I looked it up online) so I figured it would be a safe theater to go to. Julie & Julia was Hilarious... If you get a chance go see it.

So the mover is coming tomorrow and I am nowhere near Alpine yet... Next stop Dallas... I am going to dinner with a couple of friends from school or maybe just one depending on if I can get a hold of them all. Check back later for more updates from the road.

God Bless & Much Love!
Alicia

One week...

Time in NC is coming slowly to an end but at the same time it is quickly passing by. I can't believe that a week from now I will be on my way! The reality is still settling in. I have quite a few people to see before I go. I am having lunch with at least 3 different people and am hanging out with quite a few others. People are so important to me. I will miss a lot of people when I leave. But mostly I will miss my Family.

Just a note anyone who wants to see me before I go... Please let me know!

I am putting together a schedule so let me know when you are available My schedule is filling up already.

On the Schedule:
Spend time with friends & family!
Pack Car
Saturday Family day!
Sunday Leave :o(

New Website Layout...

I have put together a website to help people follow My Road to Wild Fire... I just finalized some updates on it. Check it out Here: http://www.aliciazinn.com/ministry

Moving out...

Wow I am so glad that went so well... All my stuff is now packed away in a truck headed for... Well honestly I don't were... but finial destination... Alpine, Texas. I am Glad things have gone so smoothly... Dad is doing much better. They let him out of the hospital on Friday Last week and although he could only sit in the living room and have a few people at a time come and see him... we still packed out our yard with on average 100 people at any given time between 11 & 3 on Saturday... The party was a huge success... Thank you to all who came and graced us with your presence. My Family was hugely blessed by all the people who showed up and the cards that still keep coming in! Thank You, Thank You, Thank You! Y'all don't know how much it means to us.
Well now it is a week and a half and counting till we are on the road. Thursday we should be getting the results of the PET scan dad just got this morning. This will be what decides whether they get to come with me on the trip or not. Time will tell!

So I only have 3 more days left at Family Dollar... and I am praying for patience. The grace started lifting a few weeks ago... at this point that grace is long gone. Just being there Monday morning was tough. I have been treated pretty much like I am already gone. I will only be doing some minor training with my replacement they are having her train with another MA so that when I am gone she has someone else to work with her. Just a few more days and I will be able to focus on spending time with my family and friends and getting myself ready for the long trip ahead of me.

On the Schedule This week:
More trips to the store (Target & Costco)
Start getting my car ready... Take care of auto maintenance and repairs.
Move into the guest room